I belonged to a parish in conservative Auburn CA for almost 25 years, after living in a less conservative situation in Sacramento for 20 years. But over the 25 years in Auburn, I worked hard to keep my parish from falling into the depths of this MAGA nonsense. The conservatives moved in during COVID, and turned the balance of power. They especially gained a stronghold in the religious education programs. I still taught, but I was more and more under scrutiny. It finally got too uncomfortable to stay, so I moved to a more progressive parish in the next town over. I'm the second Parish Council President who has left the Auburn parish in disgust in the last 5 years.

Pope Francis was my Dream Pope, and I think Pope Leo will be almost as good. But the balance of power in the U.S. Catholic Church is conservative, except for a few progressive parishes here and there.